


Our Hope (Pre-Daryl/Jesus)

by Peter_Pansexual



Series: Shot Through The Heart (Jesus/Daryl) [2]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Gay Character, Comforting Jesus (Walking Dead), Depressed Daryl Dixon, Depression, Dialogue Heavy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Daryl Dixon, F/M, Feels, Fuck negan, Gay Daryl Dixon, Gen, Guilt, Guilty Daryl Dixon, Hurt Maggie, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Missing Scene, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, Protective Carol Peletier, Protective Jesus (Walking Dead), Self-Harm, Short One Shot, Shy Daryl Dixon, Team Family, The Hilltop (Walking Dead), Wordcount: Under 10.000, canon character death, season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 11:52:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18603994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peter_Pansexual/pseuds/Peter_Pansexual
Summary: After Jesus saves Daryl from the sanctuary, Daryl is more broken than ever. His best friend (and overprotective mother figure) Carol comes to visit. When she does, she asks Jesus to take her to see Glenn and Abraham's graves. While there, she reminisces about Glenn and gives Jesus some advice on how to take care of Daryl.Warning: Canon character death, mentions of depression, and past canon self-harm.





	Our Hope (Pre-Daryl/Jesus)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at 11 pm when I was supposed to be writing my English essay that is due. Enjoy! All comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: im_just_here_for_the_gay_ships

“He was the only one that didn’t let this world scar his heart. Hell, even Carl had become jaded, but not Glenn. He was pure. He might have been the only one left. He actually believed that tomorrow would be better than today, unlike Rick, who would say it not only to try to comfort the group, but to try to convince himself of it. Glenn let people in no matter how much he knew it would end in pain. He believed in change. He believed that we are all good deep down, but that we repress it to protect ourselves.”

“He saw the world in a way that the rest of us couldn’t. He was more than the skinny kid he appeared to be. He was a friend, a husband, and a father, but most importantly, he was our hope. Without him, we have nothing to believe in. The last truly good person was taken from us. We all understood that no one was safe from this world, but that doesn’t mean we actually knew. Glenn was a man who lived like he couldn’t die and I guess we believed him. For some odd reason, we all thought that he would outlive us, like he had a shield that the rest of us didn’t. And by some miracle from God, he managed to escape death so many times that none of us could grasp the idea of him being gone. Of one day possibly turning into the very monsters that we fear.“

“Glenn Rhee was a survivor and it was an honor to know him.” Carol finishes. Her gaze is distant and sorrowful at the gravestone in front of them. She had arrived at Hilltop earlier that day and asked Jesus to take her to Glenn and Abraham’s graves. 

“I mean no disrespect but why are you telling me this?” Jesus asks. 

“Because you’re friends with Maggie and have a crush Daryl,” she says. His eyes widen in shock. “Don’t try to deny it, you’re painfully obvious.”

He says nothing, instead, he turns his attention to the flowers he placed on the graves. 

“He blames himself for Glenn’s death,” she says almost bitterly. 

“I know,” Jesus replies. His voice low like his heart is breaking. “I wish I could help.”

“The only thing you can do is take care of him. He’ll forget to do basic things like shower or eat. You just have to be patient because no matter what you say or do he will always believe he is at fault.”

“But it's not! Maggie doesn’t blame him.”

“It doesn’t matter. When we lost Beth, he blamed himself for not protecting her, even though there was nothing he could have done. It's just who he is. He feels too much and processes too little. He wasn’t allowed to express feelings as a child, which makes it hard for him to move forward. That’s why it's your job to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

“What do you mean?”

“The scars on his hand aren’t from dropping tools or knives,” Carol says, her voice caught in her throat. Jesus understands what she means anyway. He has his fair share of scars on his thighs. 

“I promise to take care of him,” he says confidently. 

“You better,” she replies. Her voice is cold and threatening. Her eyes pierce his own with such intensity that he wants to take a step back, but he holds his ground. He knows this is a test. She slowly turns and starts to walk away. “He likes murder mystery romance novels, but you didn’t hear that from me,” she calls behind her. 

A small smile forms on Jesus’s face. He won’t let her down.

**Author's Note:**

> The edit on May 14th was to fix some grammar mistakes.


End file.
